Last Chance
by chocolatecheesecakes
Summary: When Mathias stumbles upon a man that looks like he belongs to a century long ago, he is puzzled. Nobody lives out in these woods, that's what he had always been told. So Mathias makes it his goal to find out everything about this mysterious man, and discover why he kills anyone that sets foot within three metres of his precious territory. Although, that might not be so easy.
1. Chapter 1: For Your Sins

**I really need to stop starting fanfictions, but I couldn't resist. I have so made ideas for this story. I think it will be around 10 to 12 chapters long. I've set it in Scandanavia, so most of the creatures I use are from Scandinavian folklore.**

 **Let me know whether you think this is worth continuing!**

Chapter 1: For Your Sins

For the people of the village, life was peaceful. Quiet, idyllic. Everything had a slightly painted quality to it, like someone had smeared pain over the canvas of the heavens and created this town.

Life moved slowly here, as if everyone was walking in mud. The summer days were warm and humid, the winter ones frosty and angelic. No matter the weather or season, the baker still baked the same bread. The farmers still brought home the wheat. The tinkering of the blacksmith's hammer could be heard.

Safety from the perils of the forest and a tranquil life wasn't enough for some, however.

To a handful of young adults, with hearts full of dreams and pockets full of swiped biscuits, the tepid life that the village brought was numbingly boring. It brought no spark, no hint of the adventure they so desperately craved.

So these young people left. A few returned, tails between their legs. A couple returned in wagons, their bodies torn and tangled. The rest were never seen again.

The people of the village, pacified by horrifying tales of Nattmara and Huldra, never questioned whether their lost children had gone. It was a fact of life to them now, that people left and never returned. Death started to become second nature. Tears over lost loved ones were shed in private, with a fighting spirit pushing away any notions of such a thing as giving up.

But something started to get through to the teens. The warnings and shredded bodies started to speak to even the most foolhardy of them. And soon, even those with more pride than sense stopped leaving. The old ritual became absurd, and the handful that attempted to leave all returned as corpses.

The amount of dead bodies could at least be attributed to the troll, Lukas supposed. But then again, said troll was a useful border patrol guard and also served as Lukas's closest friend, so its good points far outweighed the bad ones. Even if his closest friend was actually his only friend. And said closest friend wasn't exactly human.

Did he feel regret for the lives, so tragically spilled in crimson over his front lawn? That was debatable. His thoughts ran like the blood. Closing his eyes and trying to forget the horror was becoming almost second nature, even though as the years went on less and less people arrived in Lukas's territory.

It had been so long, now. So long since he aged. The sorcerer turned his hands over in his gaze, looking at the palms. It seemed that even the wrinkles of well use and plain living couldn't reach his state of equilibrium. Never seeing the tolls of aging on his body. With each increasingly forgotten birthday, came another year on his mind, and nothing on his physical manifestation.

He didn't want eternal lonely existence. He hadn't wanted the supposed blessing to begin with – that had been all Vladmir's idea. And Arthur had decided to go along with it, leaving Lukas to blindly follow, knowing in his heart of hearts that is was the worst idea the trio had ever had.

So why had the boy that least wanted the curse been gifted it? A cruel trick of karma, deflecting the many blows that Lukas had dealt to people before the incident. Give him what he least wanted, with the painful memories of the deaths of his friends forever burned onto his conscience.

Vladmir had been insistent, that day. The concept of a never-ending life without aging appealed to him in the extreme, dragging him out from under the blankets each morning and pushing him to his feet. It was his main driving force. For a while, that driving force had been a good thing. Until Arthur began to be roped in.

Arthur was maybe the most level-headed of the three, which made it all the bigger shock. Opposed to Vladmir, who was happy and reckless to a fault, and Lukas's temperamental and destructive moodswings, Arthur was calm and collected. Always the voice of reason. Lukas always appreciated having him around to smooth things over with the teachers. He would have been dead many times over if Arthur hadn't been there.

Greed consumes even the most prideful and honest of people. It had consumed Vladmir, and it slowly began to consume Arthur as well. And it left Lukas in the dust, frantically scrabbling to keep his friends safe from their unwarranted lust for this obtainable 'gift'.

He hadn't tried hard enough. Not even his cold anger could get through to the minds of the two obsessors. Deaf to everything but the sound of their own voices making the plans. But still, Lukas hadn't given up trying to dissuade them, even as they climbed up the mountain that would eventually lead to death.

Why. Hadn't. He. Fought. Harder.

Lukas turned away from the window. It did no good to dwell on his previous misdeeds. They couldn't be amended. He couldn't do anything to stop the unending ache in his heart and the heavy weight on his mind. It was far, far too late to make amends now. How long had it been? Centuries, maybe even a millennia. Nothing remained of his old life, pre-curse. And he could do nothing now.

And, after all, dinner wasn't going to cook itself.

oOo

 _"Lukas! I swear," Arthur shouts, glancing down at their companion, who was a couple of hundred metres behind him and Vladmir. "We don't have a great deal of time, you know?"_

 _Lukas looked up, fire in his normally icy eyes. "You're making a mistake!" he called, over the wind and the fog. "You can't do this!"_

" _But we've prepared for it," Vladmir joined in now. "And we need three people to do the charm, you know that Lukas! You can't abandon us now!"_

" _But this is madness!" Lukas yelled, becoming desperate. "You're killing yourselves with this insane goal! You'll never reach it, and it's eating you alive!"_

 _Arthur took a step down the mountain, looking at Lukas with a rare display of worry. His voice lowered a little, whispering along with the gale, the words he spoke lost in the air but the meaning of them clear. The Englishman reached a hand out, silently pleading._

 _The Norwegian swallowed. His conscience pulled him back down the mountain; but his stupid, stupid heart was pulling him to his friends again. And he couldn't ignore the only two people that had ever bothered to befriend him in his short, sad life._

 _So he followed._


	2. Chapter 2: Adventure For One

Chapter 2: Adventure For One  


"You have to be kidding me," Tino groaned, as he ran towards the two fighting males. It was the fourth time this week that Mathias and Berwald had decided to fight it out in the middle of the street. Before that, they had wrestled and punched more times than Tino cared to count. It was tiring, annoying and most of all aggravating. Everyone else seemed to take it as their due, as if the pair would always fight, and nothing could be done to stop them.

Tino was of another opinion.

"Stop it!" the small male yelled, running in between them, shoving his arms out to push the pair away from one another. "This has to stop!"

Mathias snarled, trying to lunge towards Berwald again. "He insulted my mother!" he justified. "Nobody does that and lives!"

"In my defence," Berwald muttered, rolling his eyes. "He kept insulting my work."

The tallest of them all, Berwald was the village's carpenter. He was well known for his good quality chairs and the precision which he put into every piece of furniture that he whittled out of strong oak wood. If the village hadn't been so isolated, he would certainly have made his fortune by now. Any insult that was thrown at Berwald's work was taken hard, pun not intended, especially as Mathias had a habit of throwing slurs almost daily.

Mathias, on the other, didn't seem to have much of a purpose in the small community. After the loss of his parents to the creatures of the wood, he had started to wander aimlessly, with no plans and no discernible future. That wasn't to say he was unliked, but he had the air of a restless child trapped inside the body of a young man.

And Tino was stuck between them both. Constantly trying to prise them apart before they broke bones.

Normally, Tino would follow Berwald after a fight like this, but the tall man seemed even more unwilling to talk than usual. He left the carpenter to it, before seizing Mathias's arm and towing him away.

"What the hell was that?" Tino hissed at the spikey haired boy, narrowing his eyes. "You know how he gets when you insult his work!"

"But I was boredd," Mathias whined, pouting down at Tino. "I don't have anything to do! Alfred doesn't want me in his workshop, the last time I tried to go near Lovino he swore at me, and Gilbo's too busy arguing with his brother to help me out!"

Tino sighed heavily. Mathias was always bored. He always had something to whine or moan or complain at - the weather, the people or the date. "You need," he started, continuing to drag Mathias away. "To get out of here."

"What, you don't want me?" Mathias looked hurt, pressing a hand to his heart. "But-"

"Not in that way," Tino hastily supplied, not wanting to upset his friend. Mathias was emotional at the best of times. The last thing he wanted was for the Dane to start crying. "I meant... In a good way... Not away from us, but away from this town."

Mathias furrowed his brow, looking incredibly confused. "But I can't get out!" he pointed out. "You know what keeps happening! It's like someone wants to keep us trapped in here! And, even if I did find my way out of the woods, I don't know what I would find!"

"You know what it's like, trapped here!" Tino insisted, a smile on his face. "I mean... I like it. We all like it, we all have reasons to stay here. You don't."

Mathias paused for a second, falling silent. The wind gently whistled around them, gently brushing against the trees. What was keeping him here? His parents had been dead for a long while now, and although Mathias's regret at their death still lingered, he had accepted their passing. His friends all had closer relationships with people other than him, he wouldn't be missed if he went. He didn't have a job, and made a living by killing anything that came within thirty yards of the village with his axe. A chance at a real adventure, even if he was likely to die, would be extraordinary

"...okay," he said, after a few minutes of silent comtemplation. "I'll do it."

oOo

Mathias was right. It was almost as if no one cared that he might be going to his death. It had happened so many times before that people just took it as their due. One day, their friends would be killed. Maybe even their family, or their lover. It was inevitable, and there was no use in crying over it.

In fact, Gilbert and Alfred seemed almost excited. Their best friend was going on an _adventure._ Mathias was getting out of the dull meaningless routines and the endless monotony of village life.

"I wish I could come too," Alfred said ruefully, staring out of the window. "But you know what Arthur's like. I'm lucky if he ever lets me go shopping on my own, let alone leave the village."

"And I'll probably find something great as well!" Mathias pointed out, flattening his hair down slightly, before spiking it up with his hands. "Like... A solid gold reindeer! Or a way to get rid of the weird things in the forest!"

"Oi," Alfred pouted slightly. "That's my job. I'm the hero, after all."

"Yeah, yeah, we all know zat Alfred," Gilbert cut in, ruffling Alfred's hair before leaning on the back of Mathias's chair. "And you never know, Mat might finally find a brain."

Mathias rolled his eyes. "I already have one!" he insisted. "Just because I accidentally almost killed Feli's cat _that one time_ -"

"You threw a chair at it because you thought it was a mouse," Alfred pointed out, smirking. "Don't lie to us, Mat."

"Zat was so not awesome, Mat," Gilbert laughed.

Mathias went bright red and squeaked something about cheese, before turning to the map that was sprawled out on the table. The parchment showed all of the ground that the villagers were aware of, spreading out in a circle from the village in the circle. Unfortunately, nothing was detailed of the land out of the forest, apart from an arrow labelled 'Outlands'.

"You'll have to walk up this track here," Gilbert traced the route with a pale, calloused finger. Mathias followed with his eyes, hand trailing up and down the handle of his axe. "Don't stray off the path, or you'll get unawesomely lost."

"Pack food!" Alfred unhelpfully added. "Or you'll get really hungry."

The room fell silent. The three friends looked down at the ground, unwilling to look at each other. It was almost like a virgil to Mathias's life. His chances at surving were so slim that they were better off mourning him now, getting the tears and the screams and the hurt out of the way. Even his axe wasn't a match for the creatures of the forest. What he would find would kill him, each of them knew that. Even if he found his way out, Mathias would never return to the village. This was goodbye, forever, and none of them knew quite what to say.

"...you do know I'll come back right?" Mathias asked, looking up again, his eyes brimming with tears which he furiously wiped away. "No matter what happens. I will come back."

"You'd better," Alfred nodded, taking his glasses off and wiping them with the bottom of his shirt. "There'll always be a place for ya here, dude."

Gilbert swallowed, looked at Mathias's hopeful face, and nodded.

oOo

He left in the middle of the night, to escape the crowd that would surely try to wish him well. He shouldered his axe, pulling his bag over his other shoulder, staring into the forest with determined eyes. He wouldn't look back at the village. That was all in the past now. All that remained for him was the forest, and his adventure.

Mathias slowly walked forward, the cobbled street morphing into scattered rocks, before finally the dirt track that he would have to follow. He took out the map, consulting it with a thumping heart and a furrowed brow. It was a few days travel on foot, but Gilbert had assured him that there would be shelter from the elements in such a dense forest.

The trees loomed on either side of him, and the sounds of the world seemed to be swallowed up. The silence pressed down on all sides, compressing Mathias into a smaller and smaller space until it was hard to breathe and move and think and feel.

He shook the thoughts out of his mind. This forest would not rule him. He was the king of this forest, the man walking through with strong arms and an axe that was sure to strike fear into anyone that approached. As long as Mathias kept thinking that, he would not be taken over. He would remain strong from the mind tricks and monsters that the trees would surely try to throw at him.

It didn't take him long to get attacked. Mathias didn't know the name of the thing, but it was tall and wraithlike, stretching its bony fingers out towards Mathias, empty eye sockets staring right into his soul. It hovered two inches off the ground, baring down on the man like he was prey for a hungry wolf, its mouth open in a silent predatory snarl.

Mathias spun, dropping his bag on the floor and seizing his axe with two hands, driving it into the centre of the thing's chest. It squawked, an unearthly sound which sent a chill right to Mathias's core, before it evaporated into thin air.

Mathias crowed in triumph, punching the air and hooting at the sky. His first kill, not even fifteen minutes into the journey. And it didn't seem like his axe would pose a problem either.

He turned, to the place where his bag was. Except there was nothing. Only a patch of clean dirt, with no indentation to prove that the bag had ever existed. Mathias reeled, looking around for a pixie or nymph which might have stolen his belongings, but Mathias saw nothing. Only trees, for miles and miles. Leaves and twigs and branches hanging low, grazing Mathias's hair. Nothing apart from undergrowth and wildlife. Alone in a sea of unfamiliar life.

"Who's there?" Mathias called, eyes wide and alert. This couldn't be another trick, could it? He swooped down to the ground, trying to feel if there was anything there, but his hands only grasped empty air.

He held on tight to his axe, his only weapon and now his only source of food, and stood up again, squaring his shoulders. There was no turning back now. Without the map, Mathias couldn't be sure that he'd be able to find his way back to the village. As long as he kept trudging along, with only the clothes on his back and the axe in his hand, he would find civilisation again.

"Just keep walking," Mathias spoke to himself, cursing Tino in his head as he slowly began to walk again.

 **Thank you to V and Guest for the reviews:**

 **V - a ha! Iceland will appear in this story, I promise. I love his character too, and I have great plans for him.**

 **Guest - thank you!**


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